LSU solidifies NCAA tournament bid with blowout win over Kentucky at the SEC tournament (2024)

HOOVER, Ala.— Jared Jones was in a bit of a slump as he walked up to the plate in the seventh inning Wednesday.

TheLSUfirst baseman had just two hits in his last 21 at-bats. He was still drawing walks but having trouble activating his elite power.

As he strolled into the batter's box at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium with the bases loaded and one out,there was no better time for him to free himself from his struggles.

Jones made the most of his opportunity. He blasted a grand slam— his 23rd home run of the year— to help push No. 11 seed LSU past No. 3 seedKentucky11-0 in eight innings at the SEC tournament.

"Coach (Jay) Johnson pulled me aside before my second at-bat where I struck out and just said, 'Get back to seeing the ball and being myself, being in character in the box,' " Jones said. "And that's something I've kind of lost focus over the last couple of games."

It was the first of two grand slams for the Tigers. With one out in the eighth inning, Tommy White blasted another into the Kentucky bullpen to stretch the lead to 11.

The win pushes LSU to 38 victories and 15 in conference play. It also was another win over a Quad 1 opponent. Kentucky (39-13) entered Wednesday's game as the No. 3 team in RPI.

Including its win on Tuesday over Georgia, the Tigers have picked up Quad 1 wins against two top-10 teams in RPI. They shot up to No. 21 in the RPI after their win over the Wildcats.

In other words, LSU (38-20) is a virtual lock to make the NCAA tournament. The only questions remaining are where it will play, who it will play and whether or not it can play its way into a two seed instead of a three.

"We're playing better than anybody right now," Johnson said.

Jones' homer was the icing on the cake, but LSU's success started on the mound.

Right-handed starter Luke Holman was dominant, allowing no hits in six innings despite throwing on just four days of rest. He walked two batters and struck out seven.

"I'd say my ability to mix. I think I mixed really well today. Fastball was a little iffy sometimes," Holman said. "But I'd say I was able, even behind on hitters, I still stayed in the zone and was able to mix from behind and in front."

Right-hander Gavin Guidry replaced him in the seventh and allowed the first hit of the game, but he tossed a scoreless inning before closing out the game in the eighth because of the 10-run rule.

The Wildcats finished the day with one hit.

"Winning starts and ends on the mound," Johnson said. "Again, for the second day in a row, I believe we have one of the best pitchers in the country in Luke, and he continues to prove that over and over again."

The Tigers got off to a hot start at the plate for a second consecutive day, striking in the first inning on a solo home run from leadoff hitter Michael Braswell. The blast was only his second of the year.

"I think Michael has had a terrific year offensively for us. I'm really proud of him," Johnson said. "The whole design is just get somebody on base in front of the big boys. Well, he's now got 500-plus college at-bats under his belt, so he's doing a great job of getting on base and he's hitting mistakes."

LSU added to its lead in the second after a pair of groundouts allowed Ashton Larson to score after a leadoff double.

Both runs were charged to Kentucky right-handed starter Travis Smith, who exited after surrendering the double to Larson. Right-handers Robert Hogan and Johnny Hummel stymied the LSU attack in relief of Smith.

They combined to allow one hit and one walk in five innings. They didn't surrender any runs and struck out seven.

LSU broke through again in the seventh. After Jones' homer, Hayden Travinski added onto the Tigers' lead with a solo home run of his own.

LSU will face South Carolina, a 6-5 winner over Arkansas in the second game Wednesday, at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. The game can be seen on the SEC Network.